Therapeutic bolster and method of making the same

ABSTRACT

A therapeutic bolster for applying a constant pressure or a rolling massage to a body portion which simulates the touch of a human thumb or palm. The bolster includes a rigid, non-flexible core having a curved outer surface, and a foam cover substantially surrounding the core. The covering is bonded to the core such that an inward surface of the covering remains in a continuous contact with curved outer surface of the core. A method of making the bolster is also disclosed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to bolsters, and moreparticularly, relating to a therapeutic bolster of a construction thatsimulates the touch of a human palm or thumb to provide therapeuticmassage or pressure to areas of the human body.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many people suffer from various injuries or ailments, such as softtissue injuries, deep tissue injuries and joint injuries, among others,which can result in mild discomfort to deliberating pain. Recovery fromthese injuries or ailments or relief from pain from these injuries orailments may be had through proper pressure point and massage technique.Due to the busy life of most people and the high cost receivingprofessional treatment these injuries or ailments are left untreated andthe person goes through life coping with the pain.

Accordingly, there is a need for an alternative means for treating andrelieving the pain and discomfort associated with many types of injuriesand ailments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments of the present invention addresses this needby providing an inexpensive, portable and easy to use therapeuticbolster of an improved construction and method of making the same, whichsimulates the touch of a human thumb or palm.

To achieve these and other advantages, in general, in one aspect,therapeutic bolster is provided. The bolster includes a rigid,non-flexible core having a curved outer surface, and a covering of aresilient material substantially surrounding the core such that thecovering remains in a continuous contact with the outer surface of thecore when non-axially compressive pressure is applied to the bolster.

In general, in another aspect, a therapeutic bolster is provided. Thebolster includes a rigid non-flexible core having a curved outersurface; a covering of a resilient material substantially surroundingthe core such that the covering remains in a continuous contact with theouter surface of the core when a non-axially compressive pressure isapplied to the bolster. The covering forming a curved exterior contactsurface, and the resilient material is of a material having hardness ofabout 15 A to about 35 A Durometer.

In general, in another aspect, the covering is of a sheet materialhaving an inward surface opposite of the exterior contact surface of alength substantially equal to the circumference of said outer surface.

In general, in another aspect, the sheet material has a pair of opposededges normal to the length thereof that are joined together in a miteredlap-joint forming said covering.

In general, in another aspect, each of the pair of opposed edges are atopposing 45 degree angles.

In general, in another aspect, covering has continuous thickness fromabout 5.0 millimeters to about 8.0 millimeters.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention in order that the detailed description thereofthat follows may be better understood and in order that the presentcontribution to the art may be better appreciated.

Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbe readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a readingof the following detailed description of presently preferred, butnonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out invarious ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions andshould not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantagesand the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be hadto the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there isillustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of theinvention and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples of the invention, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the therapeutic bolster constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the therapeuticbolster;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation view of the therapeutic bolster; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the assembly of the therapeutic bolster.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, reference numeral 10generally designates the therapeutic bolster of the present invention.The bolster 10, in accordance with the present invention, is designedand constructed to closely simulate the touch of a human thumb or palmof a human hand to provide therapeutic pressure to a user. The uniquestructure of the bolster and the method of making the bolster providesthe simulated touch.

With reference to FIGS. 1-3, the bolster 10 is cylindrically shapedincluding a substantially hard, rigid, non-flexible core 12 having acurved outer surface 14 covered by a single layer cushion cover 16 thatprovides a curved exterior contact surface 18. The core 12 may be ahollow pipe core (as shown) or may be a solid core. The core 12 may bemade of a polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene(ABS) or the like. I discovered a core 12 having a diameter betweenabout 9.0 centimeters (3.5 inches) to about 14 centimeters (5.5 inches)fits the proportions of most users and provides the best therapeuticproperties to the user.

The cover 16 is of foam material, such as closed cell foam materials,foamed plastic materials, foamed rubber materials, or combinationsthereof. I discovered, to provide the simulated touch, the cover ispreferably of a foam material having a shore hardness of about 15 A toabout 35 A Durometer. Most preferably, the cover 16 is of a closed cellfoamed thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) or partially closed cell foamedpolyvinyl chloride (PVC) having a shore hardness of about 15 A to about35 A Durometer. I discovered, the closest simulated touch is found whenthe cover 16 has a thickness from about 5.0 millimeters (0.20 inches) toabout 8.0 millimeters (0.31 inches) and is of a closed cell foamed TPEor a partially closed cell foamed PVC with a shore hardness of about 15A to about 35 A Durometer.

The cover 16 comprises a single sheet 20 that is tightly wrapped aroundthe core 12 with the entire inward facing surface 22 in continuouscontact with the outer surface 14 of the core. The cover 16 isadhesively bonded to the core 12 such that the entire inward facingsurface 22 remains in continuous contact with the outer surface 14 ofthe core, such as for example, during non-axially compressive loading tothe bolster. Ends 24 and 26 of the cover 12 are joined together in amitered lap-joint. Preferably, each end 24 and 26 are cut or otherwiseformed to have opposing 45 degree angles ensuring a tight and continuousseam. Ends 24 and 26 are adhesively bonded together.

With reference to FIG. 4, the bolster is constructed by cutting thesheet 20 of the cover 16 to have a width about equal to the length ofthe core 12, and a length L such that surface 22 is of a length equal tothe circumference of the outer surface 14 of the core. Ends 24 and 26are parallel to each other and normal to the length L of the sheet 20.Ends 24 and 26 are cut or otherwise formed to have opposing 45 degreeangles. A first adhesive, such as a non-toxic contact cement, is lightlycoated on both ends 24 and 26 and allowed to dry to tact. The firstadhesive is an adhesive that remains flexible once cured. A lightcoating of a second adhesive is applied to the entire surface 22 of thesheet 20. The second adhesive may be a non-toxic metal adhesive. Thesecond adhesive may be a low viscosity pressure sensitive hot meltadhesive such as the adhesive sold under the product name GIA1045 byGlue Machine Corporation of Baltimore Md. The second adhesive may beapplied to the surface 22 using a nip roller application machine. Thecore 12 is placed lengthwise across the width of the sheet 20 with theends 28 and 30 registered with the side edges 32 and 34 of the sheet.The sheet 20 is then tightly wrapped around the core 12 compressing thesheet inwardly against the core to securely bond the surface 22 with theouter surface 14. Ends 24 and 26 are overlapped and pressure is appliedalong the seam to join them together by the first adhesive.

In use or application, a user may position the therapeutic bolster 10 ona ground surface or other supporting surface, and either lay across orotherwise press a body portion against the curved exterior contactsurface 18 to apply a constant pressure or a rolling massage to the bodyportion simulating contact with a person's hand or thumb.

A number of embodiments of the present invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

1. A bolster comprising: a rigid, non-flexible core having a curvedouter surface; and a covering of a resilient material substantiallysurrounding said core such that said covering remains in a continuouscontact with said outer surface of said core when non-axiallycompressive pressure is applied to the bolster.
 2. The bolster of claim1, wherein said covering forms a curved exterior contact surface.
 3. Thebolster of claim 1, wherein said resilient material is of a closed-cellfoam material.
 4. The bolster of claim 1, wherein said covering hascontinuous thickness from about 5.0 millimeters to about 8.0millimeters.
 5. The bolster of claim 1, wherein said resilient materialis of a material having shore hardness of about 15 A to about 35 Adurometer.
 6. The bolster of claim 1, wherein said core has an outerdiameter of about 9.0 centimeters to about 14.0 centimeters.
 7. Thebolster of claim 1, wherein said covering is of a sheet material havingan inward surface opposite of said exterior contact surface of a lengthsubstantially equal to the circumference of said outer surface.
 8. Thebolster of claim 7, wherein said sheet material has a pair of opposededges normal to said length thereof that are joined together in amitered lap-joint forming said covering.
 9. The bolster of claim 8,wherein each of said pair of opposed edges are at opposing 45 degreeangles.
 10. The bolster of claim 1, wherein said covering is adhesivelyattached to said curved outer surface.
 11. A bolster comprising: a rigidnon-flexible core having a curved outer surface; a covering of aresilient material substantially surrounding said core such that saidcovering remains in a continuous contact with said outer surface of saidcore when a non-axially compressive pressure is applied to the bolster;said covering forming a curved exterior contact surface; and saidresilient material is of a material having hardness of about 15 A toabout 35 A durometer.
 12. The bolster of claim 11, wherein saidresilient material is of a closed-cell foam material.
 13. The bolster ofclaim 11, wherein said covering has continuous thickness from about 5.0millimeters to about 8.0 millimeters; and said core has an outerdiameter of about 9.0 centimeters to about 14.0 centimeters.
 14. Thebolster of claim 11, wherein said covering is of a sheet materialwrapped about said core and having an inward surface opposite of saidexterior contact surface of a length substantially equal to thecircumference of said outer surface.
 15. The bolster of claim 14,wherein said sheet material has a pair of opposed edges normal to saidlength thereof that are joined together in a mitered lap-joint.
 16. Thebolster of claim 15, wherein each of said pair of opposed edges are atopposing 45 degree angles.
 17. A bolster comprising: a rigidnon-flexible core having a curved outer surface and a diameter of about9.0 centimeters to about 14.0 centimeters; a covering of a resilientmaterial substantially surrounding said core such that said coveringremains in a continuous contact with said outer surface of said corewhen a non-axially compressive pressure is applied to the bolster;wherein said covering forms a curved exterior contact surface; whereinsaid resilient material is of a material having shore hardness of about15 A to about 35 A durometer; wherein said covering has continuousthickness from about 5.0 millimeters to about 8.0 millimeters; whereinsaid covering is of a material selected from the group consisting ofclosed cell foamed thermoplastic elastomer and partially closed cellfoamed polyvinyl chloride; wherein said covering is of a single sheetmaterial wrapped about said core and having an inward surface oppositeof said exterior contact surface of a length substantially equal to thecircumference of said outer surface, and a pair of opposed edges normalto said length thereof that are joined together in a mitered lap-jointforming; and each of said pair of opposed edges are at opposing 45degree angles.
 18. The bolster of claim 17, wherein said sheet materialis adhesively attached to said core using a first adhesive.
 19. Thebolster of claim 18, wherein said pair of opposed ends are adhesivelyjoined using a second adhesive different from said first adhesive.